سَبَأ : ٢٣

  • وَلَا And not
  • تَنفَعُ benefits
  • ٱلشَّفَٰعَةُ the intercession
  • عِندَهُۥٓ with Him
  • إِلَّا except
  • لِمَنۡ for (one) whom
  • أَذِنَ He permits
  • لَهُۥۚ for him
  • حَتَّىٰٓ Until
  • إِذَا when
  • فُزِّعَ fear is removed
  • عَن on
  • قُلُوبِهِمۡ their hearts
  • قَالُواْ they will say
  • مَاذَا What is that
  • قَالَ your Lord has said
  • رَبُّكُمۡۖ your Lord has said
  • قَالُواْ They will say
  • ٱلۡحَقَّۖ The truth
  • وَهُوَ And He
  • ٱلۡعَلِيُّ (is) the Most High
  • ٱلۡكَبِيرُ the Most Great
And intercession does not benefit with Him except for one whom He permits. [And those wait] until, when terror is removed from their hearts,1 they will say [to one another], "What has your Lord said?" They will say, "The truth." And He is the Most High, the Grand.
Footnotes
1 - i.e., the hearts of the angels who will be permitted to intercede.
And intercession will not avail with Him, exalted be He - this was in response to their saying that their gods would intercede [for them] with Him - except for him to whom leave is given, in this respect (read adhina, '[to whom] He gives leave'; or udhina, '[to whom] leave is given'). Yet, when fear is banished from their hearts (read active fazza'a, or passive fuzzi'a), [when fear] is removed from them, upon leave being given for this [intercession], they will say - some will say to others in anticipation of a favourable outcome - 'What has your Lord said?', concerning this. They will say: [He has said] the saying that is, 'The truth', in other words, leave has been given for it. And He is the Exalted, above His creation, by [His] subjugation [of them], the Great, the Tremendous.